Site of urinary tract infection in elderly women admitted to an acute geriatric assessment unit

There have so far been no reported studies of localization of urinary tract infection (UTI) in elderly women. The site of infection, renal or bladder, in significant urinary tract infection in 50 elderly women (mean age 80) admitted acutely to a geriatric unit was determined by the Fairley bladder washout method. Of the 31 patients with an unequivocal result, 17 (55%) had renal infection and in only 14 (45%) was the infection confined to the bladder. This study has shown that, contrary to widely-held belief and standard teaching, in over 50% of cases of UTI in elderly hospitalized female patients the infection is renal.